Netflix’s Eric is centred on a mystery, a question mark around the son of a famous puppeteer who goes disappears in 1980s New York City without a trace.
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Vincent, the aforementioned puppeteer, he becomes obsessed with figuring out what happened to his son Edgar (Ivan Morris Howe) and comes to believe that the only way to bring him back is by bringing his son’s idea for a 7-foot tall puppet named Eric to life. But what exactly happened to Edgar in the first place?
For those curious to know more read ahead, but be warned that this article contains major spoilers for Netflix’s Eric.
What happened to Edgar in Netflix’s Eric?
Edgar goes missing after walking to school alone one morning, he leaves of his own accord after seeing his parents Vincent and Cassie (Gaby Hoffmann) continuing an argument they began the night before. But what happens from there is where things get interesting.
A lot of people become suspects in the case, including Vincent at one point, but the truth is something completely different: Edgar wasn’t taken by anyone. That’s right, Edgar didn’t get abducted he ran away from home.
It is revealed that Edgar followed a homeless man named Yuusuf (Bamar Kane) to where he and a large homeless community live underground in an abandoned area of the New York subway system. Edgar had taken notice of Yuusuf before from the graffiti tags he left around town, and decided that he wanted to join him rather than go to school or return to his broken home.
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Yuusuf helps look after Edgar for a time, understanding his desire to stay away from home, and keeps him away from any nefarious characters underground. Even his friends, like Raya (Alexis Molnar) who secretly wants to sell him to a person with connections to child sex trafficking ring.
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When a reward is put up for Edgar by his parents, Yuusuf makes an agreement with Cassie to return Edgar to her for the money but their meeting is scuppered by New York City police’s attempted clean up of the subway system. Yuusuf asks Raya to help him take Edgar home, but after she dies in an accident the young boy is left wandering the streets alone.
Edgar eventually heads to a cafe where he manages to persuade the staff to give him some food, and there he sees his father share an emotional plea for his return in the news.
Vincent tells Edgar he’ll race him home, Edgar does just that — he runs home and arrives ahead of his dad. This means that Eric ends on a happy note, for Vincent and his family at least.
Eric is out now on Netflix.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
